Far from There
by Kagami Sorciere
Summary: After making every effort to live a normal life, Sarah is once again haunted by her visit to the Labyrinth when some of the other residents of the Underground come to claim the Goblin King's 'prize'. On semi-permanent hiatus- please see user page :/
1. Where one thing ends

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth. I do not have money. So do not sue me for using these characters, because you wouldn't gain anything from it anyway. :P I do, however, lay claim to anyone not originally used in the movie and any scenario that may in fact result from their meddling with the original characters. 

Without further ado, here is chapter one, it initially takes place just a few hours from where the movie left off, and opinions and criticisms in the form of reviews would further encourage the progression of this story. Thank you! .

"Far from There"

_Break, break, break,  
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!  
And I would that my tongue could utter  
The thoughts that arise in me._

_O well for the fisherman's boy,  
That he shouts with his sister at play!  
O well for the sailor lad,  
That he sings in his boat on the bay!_

_And the stately ships go on  
To their haven under the hill;  
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,  
And the sound of a voice that is still!_

_Break, break, break  
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!  
But the tender grace of a day that is dead  
Will never come back to me._

--Alfred Lord Tennyson

The party with her friends had ended late into the night. Sarah plopped down onto her bed, exhausted. Arms and legs sprawled, she looked lazily over at her clock just as the red display turned to show 3am. The girl just stared at it, not fully understanding how late it really was, and with a smile lingering on her face, she rolled over and went to sleep.

-----

There was a haze, pale in countenance, but it seemed to encompass every color of the rainbow in to one giant, insubstantial mass. A hand grasped at it, only to have the mist slip easily in between the fingers and back into the swirling cloud. The figure attached to the hand stared at the haze before it. What was this hiding? What was it hiding?

Sarah awoke with a start. Groaning, she pulled a hand away from her warm body and slammed it onto her alarm clock, abruptly putting an end to the offending noise.

_You're kidding me, _she though. _School? After all that? Don't I get a free day or something?_

"Sarah!" a voice called. Karen. _Great._ "Are you up yet?"

Sarah rolled out of bed, stiff from sleeping in her clothes all night. _How does she manage to go off at the same time as the alarm?_ "Yes! Just getting up now!"

The answer seemed to placate her stepmother as Sarah began to get ready for school. Her actions were automatic after years of the same routine- out of bed, yes I'm up, off with the night clothes, on with the day clothes, washing up, half way down the stairs and—

Sarah stopped dead. She'd taken 5 steps down the stairs when she had finally woken up enough to realize exactly just what had happened. She had given away her brother, fought to get him back- fought _him_ to get her brother back- and now she was here, walking down the stairs in what should be a normal routine, as if none of that had ever happened. _But it _had _happened_, she thought to herself. _The Goblin King, Toby, all of it._ Sarah breathed. _Toby._ She leaned over the railing to look into the kitchen to see her baby brother sitting safely in his high chair, happily playing with some cereal that he had knocked out of his bowl. She straightened up. But had she lost any time? Hadn't she been in that strange world for at least 10 hours? But here was her step-mother behaving as if everything was normal. If anyone would notice a change in time/space continuum, she would. The woman didn't miss a thing. Taking a deep breath, Sarah proceeded down the rest of the stairway.

She rounded the end of the rail and walked into the kitchen. Karen spotted her taking a seat, and placed a bowl in front of her.

"Good morning," Karen said as walked back to the sink to finish washing dishes from the night before.

"Good morning," Sarah answered. She began to pour some cereal for herself while watching her step-mother from the corner of her eye. Would she think anything different had happened in the space of what was supposed to have been a normal evening?

"Umm, out of curiosity," Sarah started, "what's today's date?" It was better to hurry up and get that suspicion of lost time out of the way.

"The 27th of September. Why do you ask?"

Sarah inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. It was the same day! Or rather it was the day after, and things were still in their normal order. _Of course they would be._

"No reason. I'm just horrible with dates and numbers, that's all. I just wanted to make sure."

Karen stopped mid scrubbing and frowned slightly at her step-daughter. "You've always been so good with things like that, though. What's brought this on?"

_Uh-oh._ Sarah had to think of an escape route. She grabbed for her wrist and found her watch. Slinging her arm up from under the table, she nearly knocked her bowl over in her haste to create a distraction.

"Oh, hey, look at that! I'm going to be late for school if I don't hurry. Can we pick this line of conversation back up this evening? I gotta run!"

Sarah quickly stood up and made for her backpack next to the front door, leaving Karen in a mild state of surprise.

"Okay. Uh, see you this evening, then. And you can go out tonight!" she called after Sarah. The girl paused just as she was about to open the door. "We felt kind of bad about last night, so tonight you're free, okay?" Karen smiled. Sarah smiled back and waved before ducking out the door.

---

It had been a mistake to leave so early. It had also been a mistake to blow her step-mother off like that. Sarah sighed. Now, after all that's happened, she kind of felt bad about her behavior the night before. She'd acted like a child.

In an effort to kill time, she'd taken the 'scenic route' to school, and it had led her through town. Main Street was lined with trees, and it was only now starting to pick up a bit of traffic. Shops began to open and their keepers unlocked the doors and flipped the signs that indicated they were open for business. A new jewelry shop had just opened across the street, too. She'd have to go and look at it after school to day…

As Sarah drifted off into her reverie, she hadn't noticed the person coming from the other direction who seemed to be equally lost in thought as she was. A collision, of course, was inevitable. They bumped into each other, knocking the books out of the young man's hands in the process.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Sarah cried.

The boy dusted himself off. "Oh, no, you're fine, you're fine."

Sarah knelt down to help him retrieve his lost papers and books. "No, really, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I was pretty much lost in my own dream world when- "

The boy smiled at her, and Sarah promptly blushed.

"That is to say…." Her words trailed off. _Such blue eyes…_

"It's perfectly fine," he concluded for her. "You could say I was off in my own dream world as well, so let's just say we're both guilty." He smiled again, and held out his hand "The name's Justin. And you are….?"

Sarah snapped to. "Sarah. My name's Sarah." She smiled in return and shook his hand.

Justin was taller than she was by another foot, and with sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes, Sarah concluded that he had looks that could kill.

"Well, Sarah," he continued, "It is very nice to meet you. And what brings you out to this ghost town so early in the morning?"

Sarah couldn't help but smile. "Oh? I was just, um, killing time before school started. I had to get out of the house. And you?"

Justin shrugged. "Much of the same, really. I was just going to return some of these books to a nice old lady who let me borrow them for awhile." He grinned at her.

Sarah stifled a laugh. "Old lady?"

"Yeah! She's let me borrow some of her first edition prints for a research paper on Dickens I've been doing. I wanted to read what some of the original endings to his stories were." Suddenly, Justin caught a glimpse of the display on his watch. "Oh! I've got to hurry. Sorry, Sarah, but it was nice meeting you!"

"It was nice meeting you, too!" Sarah called after him as he made his way in the direction she had just come from.

"Perhaps we'll see each other again!" he called.

"That would be swell!" and she waved as she turned back to the sidewalk in front of her.

_That would be just my luck!_ she though hastily to herself. _It must be Karma- yeah, that's what it is- that he'd duck out of the conversation just as _I _did with Karen this morning._

She hit the palm of her hand against her forehead. _But who needs guys, anyway? I've had my fair share of pretty guys for the past 72 hours. No more, thank you. I just want to be left unconfused for a day, that's all I ask._

Sarah sighed, and looked behind her in the direction Justin had gone. A lone hawk, however, caught her attention as the only thing in the sky. It brought back memories of a large owl that had beaten at her window only the night before. _No more._

She was almost to school, and needed no more distractions when it came to eventually facing her friends.

---

"Sarah!" Rebecca cried as she ran over to see her best friend.

Sarah turned around. She couldn't believe it. It almost brought tears to her eyes to see her friend running to meet her, and it reminded her again of what exactly she'd gone through because of her own selfishness. The idea that she could have lost these people forever struck her hard in her chest.

"Hey!" Sarah called back, and as soon as she was in arm's length, she hugged her friend.

"Whoa, now, I _do_ have a boyfriend, you know. I know I'm irresistible, but…"

Sarah laughed and let her go. "I'm sorry. I was just so happy to see you." She looked at her friend, about to cry. Rebecca raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Are you okay, dear? What's gotten into you?"

This time it was Sarah's turn to look surprised. _But that's right. They don't know everything that's happened. _ Her expression then grew serious, _And I cannot tell them, either. I _won't_ tell them. They shouldn't have to know._ Besides, she was a little more than ashamed for what she'd put her brother through, not to mention what _she_ had been subject to while in the Labyrinth, that she didn't want them finding out any way.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes in concern at her friend's sudden change in facial expressions. She put a hand to Sarah's forehead. "Do you have a cold?"

" 'Becca!"

The girl turned around to see a tall, lanky boy with brown hair come up and lecherously put his arms around her.

"Hey, you! Stop that! Can't you see that Sarah's not feeling well? Brian, you jerk…"

Brian loosened his hold on his girlfriend. "Got a cold, Sarah?"

Sarah smiled as she watched them shortly argue and then bring their attention back to her.

"Ah, yeah, I think I do. Is something going around, you think?"

Brian slowly shook his head. "Around this place? Who knows. It's a miracle we aren't all dead from some mutant disease from this school."

This comment got an elbow to the ribs by Rebecca.

"Come on, girly," her friend said. "We'd better get to class before Mrs. G gives us detention for a week for merely existing."

Rebecca shook off her boyfriend and took Sarah's arm as they made their way to class.

---

The three friends took their places in their homeroom class just as their teacher began to make announcements.

"Students, before we get started, I just wanted to announce that we have a new student with us today." The short, middle aged woman raised a hand motioning for the new student to stand up and introduce themselves.

Sarah gasped. Justin stood up and made his way to the front of the class, and smiled at Sarah in surprise at seeing her again. Rebecca nudged her friend.

"Hey," she whispered. "You know that guy or something?"

Sarah didn't answer, but merely stared.

"Hello," he began. "My name is Justin Elis, and I just moved here from over seas."

Supressed squeals could be heard from some of the girls in the class as they ogled what they considered 'fresh meat' in the man department.

"Thank you, Mr. Elis," Mrs. G added in dull tones. "We're happy to have you join our class." She shot the whispering girls a frigid look to which they silenced immediately. "_Very_, happy. In fact, I think a few of us might be _too_ happy."

As the teacher sat to take attendance, Rebecca took this time to introduce herself to the new kid, as Brian gave the guy his most classic look of resent. Sarah just stared. _Wow,_ she though. _ Who would have thought?_

Contemplating her good luck, Sarah thought she heard someone call her name.

"_Ms. Williams,_" it said more persistently. "Are you here today, by chance?"

Sarah looked up only to lock eyes with her dreaded homeroom teacher.

"Y-yes, ma'am. Here!"

The teacher rolled her eyes and continued to read off names. She was then prodded by Rebecca.

"Hey, you'll never guess!" her friend whispered to her.

"What?"

"I convinced him to eat lunch with us today! We got to him first. He said no one's asked him yet! What luck is that?"

Sarah's eyes widened. "You did _what_?"

"Shhhhhhhh!" Rebecca put a hand over Sarah's mouth. "You wanna get detention?"

The girl pouted. "No, but why'd you go and do that?"

Rebecca frowned. "Don't you want to welcome the new student to school? Why Sarah, how unhospitable of you." She smirked. "You act as if he scares you or something."

This time it was Sarah's turn to frown. She watched Justin as he turned around to wave to her. Sarah smiled and waved in reply.

"Ah, maybe you're right. I've just been really wary of new people since the G— Ah, I mean, since, I, um, got xenophobia? Heh…."

Rebecca stifled a laugh. "What's gotten into you today? I think you really _have_ caught something. Well don't get close to me, whatever it is."

Sarah stuck her tongue out at her friend, and Rebecca smiled.

_She's right. I'm over reacting, _she thought to herself. _But….as strange as it sounds, though…no, impossible. He's just blessed with gorgeous eyes._

This year was turning out to be more excitement than she had bargained for. Starting high school, fighting for her brother's life in the underground against a man she'd never really forget- _Yes, him, and now there's _this _guy._

Lunch rolled around and was surprisingly normal, Sarah decided. The only difference was that now they were now a group of four instead of three, and "The more the merrier!" Rebecca had said on their way home. Sarah had laughed. Things were finally getting back to normal.

"If you say so."

---

---

4 Years Later…

"Hey!" Justin called.

Sarah was out of breath, running from her pursuer. She was laughing so much she couldn't see straight, which worried her because she was afraid she'd run into something.

"You little thief, get back here!"

"Oh, come on! It looks good! You don't need this!" Sarah waved the offending object in front of her as she spoke. She then turned to duck behind some trees when she landed right into him.

"AHHH! How in the---? _Justin_, how do you do that? I just saw you!" Sarah stared wide eyed at the boy she'd just seen who had previously been just twenty feet behind her. Justin merely smiled and held out his right hand.

"Hat, please."

Sarah looked at him sulkily. "It isn't fair. I'll figure out how you move so fast one day!"

He laughed at her. Sarah smacked him on the shoulder.

"Oh, so you think it's funny, eh? I mean it! I'll find out!"

"I don't doubt you will, my darling, but until then…." Justin paused as he looked at Sarah.

Sarah blushed slightly under the boy's gaze, his brilliant blue eyes seemingly lost in her green ones. She moved a bit closer to him, when suddenly he smiled. Sarah frowned.

"What?"

"Gotcha!" Justin yelled. He snatched the hat from the gaping girl, shoved it on his head, and ran off in the opposite direction.

Sarah stood there in shock.

"Whaaaat? You did not just do that!"

Sarah sighed in defeat and leaned against one of the trees. _That jerk. It's like he's always egging me on, and then he runs off before I can get a word in. It's so much like—_She stopped mid thought. _No, no. We're not thinking about that anymore. It's been years. No._

The girl sank down on the ground and put her hands over her head and rested her forehead on her knees. She was a senior in high school now, no longer a freshman, and she knew how to better deal with her emotions and memories. Did she like Justin? They'd certainly spent all of high school together, she knew him well after all this time. Yes, the attraction was there, but….something was off. Never once since they'd gone to school together had she ever known him to have a girlfriend. Granted Sarah had never really 'gone steady' with any boy herself, but she still dated here and there. Justin did none of that. But that wasn't important, was it? So what was the problem?

Mist.

She had been searching for something that evening. It had been lost, taken from her, but what was it? Sarah's head shot up. _I forgot all about that dream._

"Saaaarah" a voice called. The girl turned her head to see her best friend coming towards her. Rebecca grined.

"Seduced into losing again? Tsk, tsk, you'll never survive in the real world."

Sarah stood up out of indignation. "I was not 'seduced', thank you, and no, it doesn't always work." She furrowed her brows. "And after what _I've_ been through, I could survive anything, so _there_."

Rebecca laughed at her friend. "Well don't you make a fine picture. Survived what, by chance? High school? Or is this alluding to that 'thing' you refuse to tell us about?"

Sarah still hadn't told them about her adventures in realm of the Goblin King, simply because after all this time it had seemed really ridiculous to even bring it up again. Yes, she still talked to Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus, they were her friends just as Rebecca standing before her was her friend. The rest of it didn't seem to matter. _Not even him_, she thought. Sarah still refused to think anything about the being that had kidnapped her brother. She had known something around that man that even three years couldn't discern. Yes, she hated him for what he'd done to her, but there always seemed like there was more to it than that. Regardless, Sarah chose to ignore it in the long run, and simply live her life.

"Never mind that," Sarah answered. "And Justin can have his stupid hat. If he doesn't want to show off his wonderfully remarkable hair cut, that's up to him."

Sarah turned around and started back into the trees around her school.

"Aww, Sarah, don't be that way! I was just joking!" Rebecca followed her friend.

They walked in silence for awhile as they moved more into the trees. When they could no longer see the school, Sarah found a stump and sat on it. She propped her elbows on her knees and put her hands around her face. Rebecca frowned.

"You okay?"

No answer.

"This is about Justin, isn't it?"

Sarah just sat there, motionless.

"Sarah?"

There was a pause. The girl on the stump took in a deep breath.

"It isn't…." _No, don't use it. You've already used it once today. You promised yourself you wouldn't use it anymore!_ Her thoughts gave up, and Sarah went ahead and said it. "…fair. It isn't fair."

A very displeased sound came from Sarah at having to use that terrible sentence. It brought back so many memories and reminders of things she'd tried so hard to forget.

Rebecca was all sympathy as she cautiously approached her friend and placed an understanding hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, all's not lost. He hasn't got a girl friend. Maybe he's just one of those guys that doesn't see what's in front of him. Maybe if you told him-"

"No, that's not what it is." Sarah shook her head.

Rebecca raised her eyebrows. "What is it then?"

She began to fidget. _I can't tell her. I want to, but I can't._ Sarah looked up at her friend's concerned face. _Dammit, this isn't fair! I don't know what to do anymore._

Suddenly, Sarah began to cry. The tears came slowly at first, and Rebecca knelt down to see her friend better as she rubbed her back. Finally, after four years of pent up frustration and anger at her own weakness, she sobbed. She sobbed, and Rebecca, not knowing what else to do, simply held her as Sarah cried onto her shoulder.

_I didn't want to hurt my brother! _ she seemed to say through her tears. _ I was selfish, and what was worse was that I almost _stayed! _I almost gave in to more of my selfishness and stayed with that bastard! I can't tell you, Rebecca! I can't tell you what I've been through! I don't even know what I want anymore!_

It all seemed so absurd suddenly. She was 18 and had her whole life ahead of her. If anything, she had four more years of thinking to do because of college. Sarah leaned away from her friend and wiped at her face with her sleeve. Rebecca's face was stricken with worry as she brushed the hair away from her friend's face as she stopped crying.

"Better?" Rebecca asked.

Sarah laughed. "Who knows?"

The two girls smiled at each other, when a voice sounded from behind them.

"My, you poor thing," it said sympathetically.

The girls jumped, and Sarah nearly fell off of her tree stump. Eyes huge and mouths gaping awkwardly open, they stared at the tall figure standing before them. It was a woman with long, shining hair the color of the richest rouge, and as she walked toward them, the beautiful pale silks of her fitted dress seemed to almost float above the ground as if abject to the idea of dirt. A dark cape of grey draped her shoulders and shifted to reveal elegantly gloved hands by her side.

Sarah straightened up. "Who are you?"

The mystery woman smiled. "I'm here to give you guidance, just like you called me to."

The girl narrowed her eyes, not really sure what to expect next. "I did not call you to do anything. Please go back from where you came."

At this the woman laughed. "But my dear, it was you who summoned me! I have been waiting all this time to help you!"

"Sarah!"

Both girls turned to see Justin running towards them. He spotted the woman almost immediately, and his face simultaneously darkened. He looked at Sarah. "Don't listen to her."

This time it was Rebecca who spoke up. "I'm sorry, what? What is going on here? Sarah?" The girl looked confusedly from one person to the next.

Sarah simply looked at the woman and tried to figure out how she'd summoned her when she hadn't really said anything substantial for half an hour.

The woman glanced at Justin, but then raised her hand towards the girl. "Come. Take my hand, and I will be able to solve all of your problems."

_Her smile is so warm,_ Sarah thought, and unknowingly began to raise her hand to meet the out stretched one as if caught in a spell.

Twigs and leaves were heard cracking underfoot as Justin drew closer to the scene. "Sarah, no! Sarah!" His voice broke. Sarah continued to move slowly, as if in a daze, towards the red haired woman's hand. Justin gritted his teeth.

"Sarah, I want you to go out with me!"

Shock. Sarah stopped, and turned her head towards him as her had suddenly dropped. Her spell having been broken, the woman's eyes widened at disbelief. She then glared at the boy as tears threatened to converge in Sarah's eyes.

"What?" It came as almost a whisper. "What did you say?"

Justin looked down for a second and shuffled his feet in the forest floor. "I said….I want you to go out with me."

"Lies!" the woman cried. "What else could you possibly want to do with this creature that now you want to steal her heart as well!" She snapped her head back towards Sarah. "You! Look at me, please! All this man wants is to hurt you!"

"And you would do what else? Why are you after Sarah?"

"She called me here! It is she who asked for my presence!"

"You lie!"

"Ask the girl herself, then!"

"Sarah!"

Sarah had been sitting in shock over the whole display. Rebecca was clinging to her at this point and at a complete loss for what to do.

"What?" she answered wearily. Sarah suddenly had the urge to sleep under all this stress, and really fighting to keep her eyes open.

Justin looked at her pleadingly. "Did you call this woman?"

Sarah rolled her eyes and huffed. This was getting ridiculous, "How the hell should I know? I never know when I call strange creatures from beyond who 'just want to help'. Why should this occasion be any different?"

Justin's eyes widened as the woman took a step forward, a triumphant smile on her face.

"See? Now leave her to me!"

"I'll do no such thing!"

And so the argument raged on as Sarah sat defeated and staring off into the woods. _Huh, I guess I really don't care anymore._ She smiled to herself. Just then, a bright flash just above her line of sight caught her attention, and like a shooting star, it streaked towards her, and the shine landed at her feet. Absorbed in their argument, the other two hardly seemed to take notice, but as Sarah looked down, what she saw took her breath away.

Before her feet lay a beautifully intricate design of worked metal with blended silvers and golds, with delicately inlaid curves that created what appeared to be a small coin. She leaned over and reached a hand down to pick it up. Suddenly the mysterious woman and Justin's argument ended as both heads shot in the direction of Sarah.

"Don't touch that!" they both yelled at once.

But it was too late. Sarah's finger had brushed against the polished metal- there was a bright flash- and she was gone.

---

Elsewhere, a figure lounging in darkness sat annoyed while watching two individuals fight with each other. "Such children," it commented, and reached into its pocket. Brought to the fore was an exquisite coin, and, holding it between its two fingers, it flicked the coin into the image before it. "That should solve their problem," it said, and the creature in the shadows smiled.

That would be chapter one concluded. Please tell me your thoughts. There was a lot of set up here, so if it seemed a bit tedious and ambiguous at times, I apologize, but I swear it's going to be worth it. .


	2. Meetings and Partings

Sorry for the delay, I got slammed with life there for a while. Please accept my apologies ;o;

Thanks, everyone, for your reviews, adds, and alerts for chapter one. :D They really made me happy to read and see. If you're a new reader, please feel free to review the previous chapter(s) as well.

Also, despises macs. XD So if you see any formatting issues, please let me know and I'll do my best to fix them in the future.

As always, your loves and criticisms are greatly needed, so please leave them in the form of a review at the end of the chapter. Thanks a lot, guys:D

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"_Don't touch that!" two voices called out. _

_But it was too late. Sarah's finger had brushed against the polished metal- there was a bright flash- and she was gone._

-

-

-

She was floating- no, falling- or was it really floating? Sarah couldn't be certain. The only thing she was sure of was that she was _not_ on solid ground, and that she would _not_ be feeling well when she was again. She was surrounded by a delicately lighted mist, which only seemed to remind her further of the old dream she had had the night she returned from the Labyrinth.

_Maybe….if I reach out… _ As Sarah raised a hand in front of her, she tilted forward suddenly. She screamed in panic at the abrupt shift in longitude when something struck her face and her arms hard on. She had stopped floating, and was now lying on a rock-hard, icy floor. The girl lay there for a moment, half stunned, when finally she dared to look up. Slowly raising her head in anticipation of the consequences, she squinted to see an empty room, with herself as the sole occupant. There was a single torch mounted on the wall adjacent to what appeared to be the only way out. Detecting no threat, she gingerly began the process of standing up, wincing here and there, whilst rubbing her arms and legs where the impact had caused relatively minor damage.

_Where am I?_ she thought. The room appeared to be akin to a small cellar, and the walls, floor, and ceiling all had the same brown, stone masonry. She stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, when suddenly a noise pervaded her senses. Sarah whirled about with a start to see the door, seemingly of its own accord, slowly open with every manner of creak to suggest its lack of use. She craned her neck to try and see the one who might have come for her and opened the door, but only shivered as the realization set in that no one was there.

Sarah walked slowly towards the doorway, and found that the hall itself was pitch black. Grabbing the torch next to the door, she began to make her way down the dark corridor.

_Which way to choose?_ she thought. The hall ran from right to left, and both ways seemed equally ominous. Sarah sighed softly. Wherever she was, and whoever had brought her here, was not going to make this any easier for her. She needed to find the one responsible for her situation and get some answers out of them. _Wow, we're taking this rather calmly, aren't we?_ Sarah frowned. _Yes, because I'm tired of being afraid._

She chose left.

---

_Ahh, sweet girl…_ the being chuckled to itself. The room was half-filled with a huge mirror, but little good it did for reflecting in a room as dim as this. Upon closer inspection, however, one could see that it did indeed reflect, but not what was in the room itself. He stood in the corner of the lightless chamber, shrouded in even more darkness than was in the rest of the room- if such a thing was possible. The figure watched intently the mirror before him as a girl with long chestnut hair made her way down a damp and dreary passageway; to where, she didn't know. _Should we make it more difficult, perhaps…? _ He mused with a smirk. _Ah, what I do for you, my dearest friend, so that both you and I might survive and thrive in blessèd peace._ His arms were crossed about his chest, and freeing one hand, he held it out palm up, where a crystal feather appeared. He brought his open hand to his lips and blew. Just as if it were the real thing, the crystalline form floated, in an unnaturally straight line, directly towards the immense mirror. As easily as if both the feather and the mirror were made of liquid, they merged, and the shining feather disappeared from sight.

_Is it worth it? _he thought. _Perhaps peace isn't all it's cracked up to be._

---

Sarah had been wandering for what seemed like hours. The dark was penetrating, with no end in sight, and the hall ran into eternity with only the occasional door, always locked. Frustrated, and tired from the walk, Sarah slouched against the stone wall and carefully sat down, making sure to keep a steady grip on her torch. She pulled her legs up to her chest, and rested her right arm outstretched on her knee keeping the torch at a safe distance. The flame still burned brightly after all this time and seemed to have burned down only a little, if at all. She stared into the burning mass and the occasional spark flew off from the bundled wood. She wondered if it was enchanted that it could last so long. _Enchanted? How could it be enchanted- I don't even know where I am. Who's to say any of this has been caused by 'enchantments'. _ But there was no other explanation for it. How else could she have gotten here if not by some sort of magic?

Lost in thought and enjoying her break, Sarah didn't take notice of the delicate object that floated down from above, promptly catching fire in the flame. The sudden small blaze shook the girl out of her reverie as she watched the object burn. _What was that? Did a bug fall from the ceiling? _ The girl shuddered at the idea. The thought of insects lurking in the shadows disturbed her, and so she decided it was time to start walking again.

Sarah never had a problem with close spaces, nor with haunted houses at Halloween, but shadows created by the light source in her hand on the rather narrow passageway gave her an unnerving feeling.

Without warning, her torch died. Sarah froze.

"Why……why did it go out?" she wondered. Standing completely still, she recieved no answer from the abysmal darkness.

_Great! Now what am I supposed to do?!_ There had been no wind or draught- nothing that would have cause the torch to go out. For some reason, Sarah had the feeling that someone was laughing at her. She shook it off as nerves and cast aside the torch. It was of no use to her now, and as it was too dark to see, she would have to rely on her sense of touch in order to press onward. That meant free hands.

Drawing a deep breath, Sarah tentatively lifted her left hand and began to feel for the wall. She sidled a few steps left until her hand hit upon the uneven stone. She took a breath. The hard part was over, now all she had to do was walk. She took it slowly at first, practically dragging her feet against the rough stone floor for fear of tripping. It went on like this for some time until Sarah gradually built up the confidence to walk normally.

"This isn't so bad after all. I mean, after your eyes adjust, it isn't really that—"

Thenithappened. Sarah's previously held fear realized itself when she scuffed her foot against something hard and tumbled forward. Desperate to regain balance, her hands scratched at the walls on either side, determined to grab hold of something. Finally, her left hand found a groove in the wall and she held on for dear life when suddenly the wall began to _move_. At first Sarah thought it was merely a consequence of her fall that the wall seemed to turn until she realized she wasn't stopping. Unable to know what exactly was happening, and not daring to let go for fear of falling, she clung to the wall as it spun. It shook as it came to a halt, flinging Sarah away where she began to fall anew, still in pitch-black darkness, down what she could only think was a slide. She was falling head first, and was so seized with terror and confusion over this sudden turn of events that she squinched her eyes shut as tightly as she could and began breathing heavily. Then, just as it began to be too much, the slide beneath her vanished, and she found her self flopped half hazardly onto something not quite soft, but not the floor itself.

"Sarah?!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Sarah screamed, her voice finally catching up with her. Hands lifted her up and she continued screaming in a state of pure panic.

"Sarah!! Sarah, calm down!"

In response to unknown hands making contact with her arms, Sarah had put her hands up around her head. Her screaming stopped, but she refused to find out where the voice, and the hands that the voice belonged to, came from.

"I don't want to know!" she wailed out loud.

"What?!" said a confused voice. "Sarah! Stop for two seconds and look at me! Hey!"

The hands placed themselves on either side of Sarah's arms, and gently pulled them down from around her head. Too exhausted from panicking to fight back, she allowed the action but continued to sit relatively motionless.

"Hey…..hey, are we okay now?" the voice asked.

Sarah's eyes shot open. _I know that voice!_

"Justin!!" Sarah cried, and she flung her arms around him, nearly knocking them both to the floor.

"Hey, yeah, I'm happy to see you, too. GAH! Sarah, could you please…"

"Sorry!" Sarah said as she backed away to the spot she formerly occupied. "How did you get here??"

As she surveyed the room, she noticed it was not dissimilar to the one she herself had started out in, with the exception of the slide which ended a good ten feet above their heads- quite unreachable from the ground. Torches lit this room as well, and Sarah was grateful to have light around her again. Justin sat across from her, appearing a little worse for wear. She imagined she didn't look much better than he did.

"I don't know. The last thing I remember was arguing with that strange girl and warning you not to touch that thing she'd flung at you."

"You mean the coin?" Sarah asked. This information surprised her, seeing as how she had been quite convinced that the coin had come from the sky and far from where the woman with crimson hair had stood.

"Yeah. Then there was a flash of light, and here I was."

Justin had been sitting with his knees pulled up and was now picking at his shoes as he spoke. Sarah frowned. _Is he scared, you think?_ He looked at her. "How did you get here?"

Sarah sighed. "Much the same. Flash of light, then in some dungeon-like room like this."

"But how did you managed to come down that slide? I've been trying to climb up it for the past two hours!"

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "Two hours?! _Two Hours?!_ We've been _stuck_ here for two hours…?"

"As far as I can tell," Justin replied. "I'm only taking my best guess, though. My watch froze as soon as I got here, see?" Justin held up his watch for her to see. The hands were frozen at 12:43pm. Sarah nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, as soon as I got in that strange room, I got the torch from the wall and started walking down the hall."

"You mean you walked out of the door of the room you were in?"

Sarah frowned again. "Yeah…how do you think I got here if I simply sat in that room the whole time?"

Justin shrugged. "I don't know. I tried to leave here, too, but those things…."

Sarah twitched. "Things? What things?"

"The things guarding the door outside. They won't let me leave, and I'm too freaked out to try. They might run me through or something." Justin visibly shuddered at the thought.

Sarah shifted uneasily in her spot as he continued.

"I'd been trying to get out by climbing up the slide when you came rushing down it."

Sarah smiled slightly. "Sorry about that. It wasn't on purpose. My torch went out and I tripped and found myself falling. Next thing I knew I was here next to you."

Justin smiled at her. "Well, at least we're together now. Since you're here, I think we might have a chance of getting past the guards outside. What do you think?"

She smiled uneasily back at him. "I dunno about that. What do they look like? Are they really big? Because if they're really big, I don't think I'd be able to—"

Justin grinned widely at her, throwing her train of thought off completely. He quickly grabbed her hand, using his other free hand to get a torch off the wall and opened the door. There, standing at about four feet tall and about three feet wide were three _goblins._ Sarah gasped. This caught the attention of the little creatures who then turned their beady eyes towards the pair.

" 'Ay, I's told yous befor, kidda. No commin' through thisa way. In with' ye!" the goblin snapped, trying to shoo them back into the room.

Sarah merely stood in shock, while Justin, with newfound courage of what he now considered was his duty to protect a damsel in distress, swung the torch around close to the goblins. Collectively they howled and jumped back.

"Now whacha doin' tha' fer!! …"

It continued on its tirade, but seeing an opening, Justin ran for the space down the hall dragging a very spaced out Sarah behind him.

"They were…." She covered her mouth with a hand.

"They were what?" Justin asked, still striding down the hall.

"They were _Goblins_!" Sarah cried.

Justin simply laughed. "Yeah, probably. That's a nicer name than they would have gotten from _me_. "

Sarah tugged on Justin's hand that held her own. "No, Justin. You don't understand! If those were Goblins, then that means we're…."

"Means you're where, Sarah?"

The two teenagers spun around to spot a tall, lanky man with ice blonde hair in a loose white shirt, what could only be described as riding pants, knee high boots, and a black cloak. He stood with his hands on his hips, starting bemusedly at the two people before him. Sarah was about to faint.

"Who are you?" Justin demanded. He was surprised at his own tone of voice towards the stranger.

The man gave the young ones a slightly twisted smile and began to stride confidently towards them.

"Oh, I'm everyone and noone," he replied offhandedly. "Isn't that right, Sarah?"

Sarah was truly going to collapse on the floor. Her knees gave way as Justin caught her and helped her regain her footing. The man threw back his head and laughed.

"Ja…..Jareth," Sarah managed to say.

His eyes flashed with sly amusement. "Yes."

Sarah stared at him, and for a brief moment, she and Jareth locked eyes. _What does he see?_ she wondered. _Does he see how afraid I am?_

Sarah cursed to herself and looked away. As if reading her thoughts, Jareth laughed.

Justin merely looked back and forth between the two confusedly. A look of concern passed over his face for Sarah. She had stared at this 'Jareth' in such a way that he'd never seen her look before. The expression had been at first one of near helplessness, turned quickly into astonishment, and then immediately into disgust. She now leaned against him, refusing to look at the figure before them.

Justin looked up at the man. "I'll ask you again," he said, eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Jareth, finally taking note of Justin's presence, broke his gaze from Sarah to the one she was clinging to. The smile on his face soured. "I am just as the girl called me, young man. I am Jareth." And with that, the man bowed mockingly.

Justin snarled. "That tells me nothing! What are you here for, and how do you know Sarah?"

Sarah had been half-listening to the verbal exchange between the two, half-lost in her own thoughts and recollections. Jareth had taken a step closer to them.

"_That_, boy, would be none of your concern," Jareth replied testily.

"Sarah _is_ my concern!" Justin snapped back.

Jareth paused, raising an eyebrow. "Is she now…?"

The comment had come out more of a statement than a question. He continued. "If you'll so excuse my saying so, last time I checked, Sarah didn't need children like you running after her holding her back. Isn't that right, Sarah? That's the same way you felt about your—"

"ENOUGH!" Sarah yelled. She darted out between the two males who had been slowly inching towards each other the entire time. Both of them jumped out of surprise from her sudden movements, but tried to hide it.

_It's just like what happened earlier today!_ she thought furiously to herself. _I'm so tired of people arguing over me!_

"Then end it here, Sarah," Jareth said to her soothingly. Her eyes shot towards him. He _had _read her thoughts!

"Stop it!" she cried. She looked over to Justin. "Both of you."

Justin nodded in acknowledgement of her wishes, but Jareth merely scoffed. "Really, Sarah," he began. Jareth grabbed her wrist and slung her around to face him. Justin went to move, but found that he couldn't- as if he was glued to the spot. Jareth glanced at him and smiled as he looked back at Sarah. "If I stopped, what would be your purpose for returning here then?"

Recovering from the shock of being grabbed, Sarah's eyes widened as she looked at Jareth full on in the face for the first time since she'd gotten there.

"_Returning?_ I did not return of my own volition!"

Jareth cocked his head to the side and grinned. "Didn't you? Sitting there on that pathetic little tree stump, daydreaming at the ground- and dreams are _my_ domain, mind you- _you_ created that token, did you not? As a way out? And it turned you up at my doorstep." Jareth released her wrist. "Now, I wonder why that is?" he said with an even broader grin.

Sarah panicked. _I created that coin? That's impossible!_

Greatly worried and not bothering to hide it, she looked up into his eyes. Ill-matched and sparkling just as they were before, something seemed to Sarah a bit... off. As if trying to think thoughts that never really passed through her mind but fleetingly, she glanced back at Justin who was struggling in his spot on the floor, but unable to walk away from it or speak. She looked back at Jareth whose expression had not changed. Suddenly, thoughts of being trapped in the Labyrinth for eternity flooded her mind, clashing and clanging with each other until she could no longer stand the thought of her helplessness in the situation. Tears began to form in her eyes as she shook her head.

"No…" she murmured.

"What was that, Sarah?" Jareth asked.

Sarah closed her eyes tightly. "I said NO! I will NOT be stuck here! I want out NOW!"

And almost with a mind of their own, Sarah's arms lunged for Jareth to knock him over so that she could run. She had forgotten about Justin entirely. _It will work!_ she though. However, when Sarah went to push, all her hands hit was air as the momentum sent her reeling into the air. Knowing she'd miscalculated, Sarah braced herself for the impact with the wall, only to find that none came as she fell tumbling to the hard stone floor.

She collapsed into a heap on the ground, but unlike last time, decided that looking around immediately would be best. Her head snapped up, eyes finally open again, she found herself once more plunged into utter darkness. Sarah let out a cry of frustration and pounded on the ground once for good measure.

"Is that any way to behave?" came an unfamiliar voice.

Sarah stopped dead. "Who's there?" she demanded anxiously.

"Ah, but my dear, you really are hopeless. Turn around- you're facing the wrong direction."

Sarah was sure she blushed slightly from embarrassment, and actually thanked her blessings for being under the cover of darkness this time around.

Carefully, on all fours, Sarah maneuvered around until she saw a small source of light coming out of a wall. A few seconds of her eyes adjusting showed that the glowing mass was actually a window, and on its sill sat a lone figure. Their outline suggested a lazy posture with one leg propped up while the other dangled. The figure was shrouded in darkness entirely, and nothing more than a silhouette could be seen. It stirred.

"Do get up, my dear. One must say that groveling on the floor like that doesn't suit you a bit."

Mouth hanging slightly open, Sarah got up and dusted herself off. She stood, however, where she had landed.

"Who are you? Is this another one of Jareth's tricks? Where's Justin??" All of it came out in a rush from Sarah's mouth, and the being laughed.

"Now, now, one thing at a time. What would you like to know first?"

Sarah could feel it smirking at her. She sighed impatiently. "Justin. Where is he?"

The shadowed figure turned its head back towards the window. "He's not here, if that is what you are inquiring."

Sarah frowned. "Then what have you done with him?? I want him here!" she snapped.

Sarah deduced from the movement of the shadow that it was looking at her again.

"_I _have done nothing with him. I would suggest you keep your tone reasonable."

Sarah took a breath, hoping it would make her sound more agreeable. "Then where has he gone to?"

"He has gone nowhere."

Sarah closed her eyes. This was getting pointless, and the cryptic answers were not what she wanted to hear. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," the figure began. He moved from his perch on the windowsill to stand next to it instead. "he has gone nowhere, because he was never here to begin with."

Sarah heard an involuntary gasp escape her throat. "_What?_"

The being moved closer. "He was never here."

"And Jareth?" she said unbelievingly.

It moved its head to the side. "Him neither."

This was more than Sarah could bear. Then who- no _what,_ exactly, had she been talking to for the past hour? She stood there dumbstruck, eyes darting across the same spot on the floor as she thought, and failed to notice the shadow moving to the opposite wall to light a torch.

Sarah was quiet. "Then what were…."

The being, now in the shape of a man, moved closer to Sarah with the torch and put it into the holder closest to her. "Illusions."

"Why?" she asked, and shot her eyes up in response to the light. If her mouth had been hanging open in surprise before, now it was really dangling. Before her stood the most majestic man she'd ever seen. Long black hair trailed right above his waist, over a long, trailing coat of the most unfathomable black she'd ever laid eyes on. Cream lace spilled from the sleeves, and his movements revealed a rather delicate creme silk blouse beneath the heavy coat. His trousers were also black, and blended seamlessly into boots of the same color. His eyes were a deep, dark green as his hair fell into them.

"Why?" he answered. A smile snuck their way onto his full lips. "Because I felt like playing with you before I inevitably handed you over."

Sarah's eyes widened. "_What??"_ She seemed to be saying that a lot lately…

The man bowed. "Let me introduce myself. I have had many names in the past, however the one that's seemed to have stuck with me through time has been 'Ashlar'. And so, you may call me as such." He regained his full height once more.

Sarah merely stared, knowing not whether to be charmed or angered with this person.

"That would be quite enough, I'd say, Ashlar," yet another voice called. This one, however, Sarah recognized.

"Jareth!" she gasped. The Goblin King stepped out of the shadows. He continued on without taking even the slightest notice of the girl.

"I go to do my inquiries in my castle only to hear of you meddling in between Enna's doings, and on top of that…." He trailed off, and slowly his eyes drifted to Sarah. She looked back at him, longing for some recognition after all the tricks she'd been subjected to, only to find a cold stare instead. Sarah's brow twitched. _Why is he looking at me that way?_

Sarah took in a sharp breath. "This is a trick again, isn't it?"

Jareth perked a brow. "Trick?" He looked towards Ashlar who had gone back to the window and was staring out it intently. "I merely had a little fun with her before your arrival," Ashlar said non-chalantly and turned his head towards Jareth while still keeping his eyes on the sky. "I had hoped you wouldn't mind."

Jareth took a breath. "Not at all," he said rather cordially.

_A little _too_ cordially,_ she thought. _What's this all about?_

Sarah went to take a step forward but nearly fell over when she found she couldn't. By the window, Ashlar waved a hand, and Sarah toppled forward, feet free. "Forgot about that," he said dismissively. "She's all yours," he stated, motioning to Sarah.

Sarah's face twisted into an indignant expression. "I am not going anywhere! Besides, that's probably another fake Jareth, isn't it? I won't be fooled twice."

Ashlar laughed. "Of course not, my dear. Jareth, do take her now. I have things I need to attend to."

Jareth looked back at Sarah who had been examining him as to his authenticity the entire time. Sarah saw the ice in his eyes and nearly shivered out of spite.

"Fine," he said flatly. "Come here, girl."

Sarah frowned at his tone. "Excuse me? I do have a name, you know."

Jareth's eyes became feral, and all Sarah's confidence melted in the inferno of them. "Come now or be dragged. Your choice," he said calmly despite the look in his eyes.

Sarah was through with fighting, and suddenly felt all her exhaustion catching up to her where she stood. Running at lunch, walking for hours in a veritable tunnel, falling through a wall, down a slide, running from goblins, only to be thrown elsewhere in front of this Ashlar person- it was too much all of the sudden. With heavy feet, as well as heavy eyelids, Sarah made her way over to where Jareth stood and stopped in front of him. She looked up. "I'm ready," she said, resigned. It didn't seem like she had much of a choice.

Jareth's expression had returned to that of icy indifference as he looked at the girl before him. Without a word, he placed a hand on Sarah's arm, when Ashlar spoke.

"Please remember before you go, that you and I have an appointment in the near future. You would do well to keep it, Jareth."

The Goblin King's eyes laid upon the figure once more slumped over in shadow. "I'll see if I can work it in."

And with that, Jareth and Sarah vanished.

Ashlar smiled to himself. "The bastard."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

And that would be the conclusion of chapter two! Undying gratitude go to Callisto Almasy for being my beta for this chapter and doing an unprecedented job. Thank you!

Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter, and I'd like to encourage everyone this chapter to please leave your feedback.

Happy All Hallow's Eve!


	3. The Undisclosed Reason

We are, finally, back

We are, finally, back. Between this chapter and the last, life has taken a throttle hold on me so strong that I have not come out unscathed- in fact, I still haven't come out of it. Yet. However, I see that golden horizon, but what lay beyond it is not rest, but yet another adventure, and so now, still in the thrall of the last horrors bestowed upon me, I prepare for a year-long endeavour to the Land of the Rising Sun- Japan. This story will not die, however. It might take me a lifetime to finish, but I think I'd like to finish it none the less. I'd like to thank those of you who have emailed me in the past year concerning this story's status and prodding me to continue on- it is you who have made this chapter possible. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

There will be a bit of exposition for the next couple chapters, so please bear with me. I've tried to clarify some things in this one. Please leave all comments, critiques, and hate mail in the comments section. ;) Once again, thank you for your patience.

Thank you also to my indefatigable beta, Cally. Thanks for getting this back to me so fast. :)

--

Chapter 3: The Undisclosed Reason

"_Please remember before you go, that you and I have an appointment in the near future. You would do well to keep it, Jareth."_

_The Goblin King's eyes laid upon the figure once more slumped over in shadow. "I'll see if I can work it in."_

Sarah felt a gentle squeeze on her arm when all around her the walls seemed to crumble. Although the actual speed at which it happened was rather instantaneous, for one who's never been 'transported' before,it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Just as the walls completely fell away and it appeared she and Jareth would fall into oblivion, there was a high-pitched ring, what felt like a sudden push on her insides, and then they were swiftly surrounded by the tangible.

Sarah lurched forward at the sudden stop when Jareth walked away from her and she caught her balance just before it seemed she would fall to the floor. The ring of the final decent was still in her ears and giving her a rather nasty headache.

"You weren't supposed to come here, you know."

Sarah looked up to see Jareth taking a seat. They had apparently landed in the throne room of the Labyrinth.

"What?" she said. Sarah was in a daze, and her exhaustion was catching up with her rather fast. If she thought the landing threw her off, in a few minutes she knew she'd be reeling if she didn't fall asleep where she stood first.

"You weren't supposed to come here," Jareth repeated.

Sarah stared at him incredulously. "Is that supposed to explain everything away now? Is that supposed to explain how someone showed up out of nowhere and then I got sucked into some never-ending hallway? Is that supposed to justify everything?!"

Her voice steadily rose as she spoke. Her fatigue was finally starting to show through. _God knows what time it is right now! What's my family gonna think when I don't show up this evening? What about Rebecca! And Justin!_ Sarah's mind reeled at the thought of what her friends might think of her sudden disappearance. _But Justin might understand. After all, he was….._ Pain visibly shot through her face. _No, he wasn't. Justin wasn't here. It was all a lie!_

Jareth allowed the pause after the girl's tirade. He didn't feel like arguing with her- he didn't care- but watching her think (which he assumed she was doing) was well worth the temporary wait.

"Had an epiphany?" he said. Sarah looked at him, still visibly hurt, and noticed the faintest hint of a smile on his face for the first time since she'd been taken away from Ashlar.

"Something funny?" she sneered in return.

He looked down at her from his spot on the throne and tilted his head slightly. "Life in itself is funny."

Sarah's displeasure at Jareth's comment was apparent. "I bet it is."

After a few moments, she straightened herself up and began to regroup. She was surrounded by sturdy stone walls in nearly a circular shape. Looking down around her, Sarah noticed she was in the dug out pit in the center. Finally, she looked up.

"So…….What's supposed to happen now? I didn't ask to be here, so you cannot keep me."

Jareth raised a brow. "Oh really? Well…." He shifted in place. "You're correct in your assumption in that you did not ask to be here. Being that as it may, and circumstances as they are, where would you prefer to be?"

Sarah was visibly stunned. How could he want to know what she thought? It never worked that way before…. _But before you had agreed to be here, to play by his rules, and now you are merely a victim of circumstance._ This thought seemed to reassure her in her mental argument that she had been forming to use against the Goblin King.

"I'd like to go home, please. Back to where I was before I got whisked off back here," she said confidently.

Jareth looked down with a smirk and scuffed the side of his boot on the floor. "Do you, now….."

She nodded.

"Well then…." Jareth repositioned himself on his chair. "You must understand that you've come at a very…trying time for me right now." Squinting, he peered at Sarah from behind his bangs. "Sarah," he began. He stood up and began to pace around the dug-out pit that Sarah was standing in. "Do you remember what brought you here last time and what exactly became of that last particular encounter?"

"Of course."

"Then if you remember," he continued, "You'll know that what you managed to, dare I say it, _accomplish_, here in my kingdom was not taken lightly. You understand that, yes?"

"As much as I can understand any of the stuffthat goes on here."

Jareth stopped in his pacing to look at Sarah. Sarah stared defiantly back. "Always so quick to defend, aren't we?"

"What?" she replied.

"As I was saying…" Jareth resumed his pacing. "What you did wasand is not taken lightly. With every failure there comes a price-"

"-But I didn't fail!" Sarah protested.

"Ha, indeed you did not….for the most part. But if you will let me finish, dear Sarah- with every failure comes a price….as well as with every victory."

Sarah frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jareth now had circled all the way back around to his throne and resumed his seat, pulling a nearby stool in front of him so as to prop up a foot. "I mean that your little stunt has now attracted attention to my kingdom and so to you. You have, in turn, made yourself a target."

Sarah's frown deepened as she sunk down to the floor. "A target?" she whispered.

"Indeed."

Suddenly she looked up. "But what's any of this got to do with me going home? If I'm home, they can't follow me, right?"

Jareth laughed outright. "Have you not been paying attention? What do you think just happened?" His volume rose as he spoke. "Off at school with comrades, friends, when one person you know and another you don't suddenly steal you away to a place not of your world??"

"But you said that he hadn't really been there!!" Sarah shouted back.

"No! Your little friend hadn't! And lucky for you that Ashlar noticed and took you himself! Or, rather, you took yourself to Ashlar, with a little prodding."

"Who is he anyway?"

"Who?"

"This Ashlar person."

"Ahh…." A knowing look passed over Jareth's face. "Consider him an old friend. But more to the point is your request. I cannot grant it."

Sarah's face then became the essence of disbelief. "What?? No, you can't do this!!" Kicking up the hay around her, Sarah stood up, and made to step out of the pit when suddenly, with eyes closed, Jareth raised up his hand and she stopped. He got up, and stood before her, looking down and began to speak quickly in low tones.

"Do you think that I would want you here for even one minute? No! I do not. I do not like it any more than you do, but at the moment, _we_, yes, _we_, do not have any other choice, do you understand?"

"No, I don't understand any of it!"

Jareth sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, do you want to be stolen again? Your life perpetually interrupted? I do not want you here, but I have no choice. And don't think for even one moment that I'm keeping you here for your sake- quite the contrary, rest assured of that. If it didn't matter at all and they wanted to rip you to pieces, do not think that I would stand in their way."

Jareth moved away and walked slowly to his throne, facing it. "There are people after us, Sarah. And essentially, it is all your doing." He walked to the staircase to leave.

"But what have I done?" Sarah said desperately.

Jareth stopped, and turned to the side, saying, "The question should be, 'what have you undone?' " and with that, disappeared.

Sarah was left there, staringafter the spot Jareth once occupied. "But I don't understand!" she yelled. Sarah cried out in frustration.

"I just want to go home."

Suddenly, pure and utter exhaustion set in, over-riding inherent anxiety over her situation completely. Sarah fell asleep at that very spot.

--

"Get up."

Sarah, after sleeping for some time on the hard stone floor was now covered in straw. Unconsciously responding to the cold command, she rolled over in an attempt to obey, but it was to no avail.

"I said get up," the Goblin King uttered.

She continued to lay there, motor functions abandoning her instead for mandatory rest. Sarah let out a whimper then fell still.

Jareth watched. Uncomprehending why his command couldn't be followed and why the girl lying at his feet had suddenly gone still, he stuck out a booted foot and gingerly nudged her in the shoulder. Seeing that she was quite passed out, he mildly rolled his eyes.

"So you're just going to stay there, are you?" he said quietly to the unconscious body. He bent down next to her to better examine her, allowing himself to look at her closely for the first time. "My, have you grown up in these past, few very short years….but I can't imagine why they'd want you, Enna and that boy- it makes no sense to me at all, unless...no. It is a childish venture they're on, indeed, but what is it they're really out to prove…?"

He trailed off, looking away from Sarah and out one of the doors, spotting a goblin hobbling down the hall. Just then, he stood up, and looking down at her he said, "You've no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?"

Jareth laughed. He laughed at himself, mostly, for speaking to the inanimate girl on the floor. Just then he saw the same goblin pass by. "You there!" he called. The goblin glanced up, and looked around itself for a moment before pointing at its chest in question.

"Yes, you. Come here. Take this girl and put her somewhere. She can't very well sleep out here, someone's bound to see her."

The goblin down the hall nodded to its king and then began motioning furiously. Out of seemingly nowhere four other goblins came out into the hall and filed into the throne room. Jareth started up the stairs, then paused.

"Oh, and be decently careful with her, will you? It'll make me look bad of she's too severely damaged," he snickered, and then vanished up the staircase.


	4. Revelation, sort of

**A small chapter to tide things over. I was in the mood for some interesting dialogue, or at least an interesting something, so here's what became of that inkling. Be sure to leave a review of what you think! -xoxo**

* * *

Jareth paced the floor of his study. A touch of a sneer resided upon his features, marring any sort of pleasantness he might've retained naturally. Things were essentially going as planned, his main targets were being met, but the means of getting there had become totally different.

He poured a drink for himself.

Taking a sip from the ornate glass, the heels of his boots continued to tap away in a steady rhythm as he once again took up his pace upon the floor. So Ashlar had had his fun, what concern of it was his as long as he'd gotten what he wanted- the girl- and that she was unharmed and mobile. But the idea of what exactly _had_ happened tugged at him ever so slightly. Ashlar had used Jareth's own image against Sarah, and her instant defiance wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting at their reunion. He laughed to himself. 'Reunion'. As if such a thing mattered or was important.

"No, my dear Sarah," he wispered, looking deeply into one of his glass orbs containing an image of the young woman. "Reunion's got nothing to do with it, I'm afraid. You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for….."

Jareth abruptly looked away and waved a hand, dispersing the orb back into luminescent particles.

--

Sarah rolled over in her sleep. Yawning groggily, she flopped over, flinging an arm out as if to reach for something on a counter that wasn't truly there.

"Ah man, what a dream…"

Sarah's hand continued to flail about in mid-air until the repetitive failure encouraged her to visibly investigate the problem. "Where is that alarm clock?"

Shock set in when she finally realized that there was no alarm clock there. She stopped for a moment, staring at the space that logically should have contained her timely device before she finally dared to look around the room.

"Oh god….."

Sarah's mouth hung ajar. "It wasn't a dream, was it?"

"Oh come now, Sarah. This place is surely more fanciful than your normal home, is it not? Think of it as a waking dream, and just go along with it."

Jareth stood in the door way, half smiling at her from his perch. Sarah's face took on a look of mild annoyance.

"Would you mind not standing there grinning inanely at me and just tell me what's going on here? I have someplace to be, and if you don't mind, I'd like to get this out of the way so I can return home as soon as possible, please."

"Oh!" The Goblin King's face lit up in mock surprise. "Using the word 'please', are we? My, you really must be desperate."

Sarah rolled her eyes and pushed herself up with one hand on the bed in order to better see her captor. She leaned up against the back board. "What do you want?"

"Who? Me? Nothing." Jareth shrugged and pulled up a chair beside the foot of her bed. "I'm just here to check on my guest."

"Drop the formalities. I'm not a guest here, and you know it. You want something, or else I wouldn't be here right now. Something to do with what happened at school the other day, am I correct? Don't tell me you set it all up because you missed me."

Jareth laughed. "Aha, miss you? Hardly. Your kind stink up my castle- why would I want you here?" He grinned at Sarah. "But since you put it in such strong terms, I'll put it to you straight."

With that, Jareth rose to his feet and stood directly above Sarah, still sitting in her bed, looking up at his now looming figure. "Someone whose business it shouldn't be has discovered what you did here those few short years ago. With that information, they intend on testing out the greatest myth in our land out on me, as their test subject, and they happen to think that using you would aid them in accomplishing this task."

Sarah blinked. She stared blankly at him for a moment when, much to Jareth's quickly controlled horror and annoyance, she burst out laughing, falling over on her side onto the bed. Jareth watched her display coolly as her laughter faded into small giggles.

"Are you finished?"

"I don't know."

"I asked you if you were finished."

"What does it matter?"

"Because this is important."

Sarah shot straight up and looked him full on in the face. "When has anything concerning me ever been important to you?"

Jareth matched her intensity. "Since you made yourself the weakness of this castle."

Silence.

"What?"

"You heard me." Jareth got up and began to pace again.

Sarah frowned. "But how? All I did was play your stupid little game. How could that have anything to do with whatever security issue you're having right now?"

A bitter smile crossed Jareth's face. "Exactly. You played my 'game' as you call it. There shouldn't have been any problem at all."

"But there is."

Jareth stopped. He nodded. "Yes. There is."

The pacing resumed. Sarah sat and stopped to think. None of it made sense to her. Every bit of it was so cryptic that it hardly made any relation to the other things she'd been through, except for the fact that somehow they all came back to Jareth. "I'm confused," she concluded.

"Good. This is something I need to discover by my own means. I can't have you getting in the way of it," he sneered.

Sarah frowned. "But you said it had to do with me. That I was your weakness-"

"NO," he spat. "NOT my weakness- the weakness of this castle, this country."

"Then what's going to happen to me?"

Jareth laughed slightly. "Therein lies the real question, though, doesn't it? What happens to little Sarah…you shall stay here."

"What?!" Sarah began to work her way out of the bed. She was so tangled in the sheets, however, with her street clothes still on, that it became difficult to extradite herself from the bedding.

"Here you will stay. And don't argue with me!"

Sarah stopped struggling with the sheets, giving the bed its victory. She looked at Jareth. "You can't keep me here."

"Oh really?" he asked questioningly.

"Really," she responded.

"Watch me."

And with that, he disappeared.


End file.
